Inhuman temperatures above 50C in Middle East

Birds
in Kuwait have reportedly been dropping from the sky as temperatures
soar to 50C across the Middle East.

The temperature in Kuwait
has been consistently above 45C but the added humidity in the region
is making it seem even hotter, creating extremely difficult living
conditions for both humans and wildlife

The Middle East has
been hit with an 'ungodly' heatwave so extreme Iraq's government
ordered all of its civil servants to go home on Thursday, when
temperatures rose above 50C.

Temperatures are expected to stay
above 45C for the next week, with the UK Met office predicting
temperatures as high as 50C this weekend.

Meanwhile Kuwait will
see highs of 47C and 44C in Riyadh.

It comes after temperatures
above 48C every day this month in the Iraqi capital.

Iraq's
underfunded power network is struggling to cope with the increased
demand from air conditioning and water coolers.

"It's
really hard because of the lack of electricity, at home electricity
is not good.

We use 60 per cent of electricity from
generators," said Baghdad resident Murtada Faisal.

Mr
Faisal said public showers offered by the Government as a means to
battle the heat were "like a bandage".

"What we
need is a long term solution like trees and water tunnels," he
said.
Mr Faisal said green spaces had been lost to new housing
developments in and around Baghdad and there was not enough water to
sustain the trees that the Government had planted.

The heatwave
is also taking its toll on Iraq's military, who often spend long
periods standing outside. Mr Faisal said he noticed increased
friction between soldiers and civilians in the extreme weather.
"It's really bad, it makes them angry.

When I go outside
in Summer, I see more problems between people at the border,"
he said.

Another Baghdad resident, Mohanad, described the heat
as "ungodly".
"The generator in my neighbourhood
that provides electricity for about 300 houses has caught fire from
the heat.

All it generates is smoke," he told the
Guardian. "We don't know what to do. Men can go to the pool
here but what do we do with our women, elderly and our babies?

Even
the ACs in the car aren't working properly.

It's over 53
degrees today."

"It's disgusting. The government
cannot do anything to help us even if they tried; the electricity
generators were built in the 1960s and haven't been changed or
modified since."

The heatwave in the Middle East comes
after a heatwave dubbed 'Lucifer' fanned forest fires in Europe this
week.

Both the Middle East and Europe have experienced extreme
heatwaves this summer, which scientists warn is the result of global
warming. In Iraq,

temperatures in Baghdad have reached 50C,
prompting the government to declare a mandatory holiday to allow
state workers to stay at home.

Europe is battling a heatwave
dubbed "Lucifer" which has seen temperatures climb above
40C across the continent.

The sweltering weather in Italy has
caused wildfires and at least two people have died from the extreme
heat in Romania and Poland. Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland, Hungary,
Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia have been
the worst hit, with people being warned to stay indoors, avoid long
journeys and drink plenty of fluids.